DESCRIPTION

The “Road of Volcanoes” themed trail reveals two lost worlds to the visitor: on the one hand that of the volcanoes and the traces of their eruptions, with ash, “pillow” type lavas and solidified lava, and on the other, the Tethys Sea, from which we have rocks showing traces of the creatures living 2,000 metres deep underwater. The soil of Țara Hațegului keeps the memory of the place where, millions of years ago, was the Thetys Sea, its waters bathing the Hațeg island and hiding active volcanoes in its depths. On the “Road of Volcanoes” one can properly see the environment in which dinosaurs lived 70 million years ago on an island, during the Cretaceous. Meanwhile, the volcanoes cooled down and the lava, ash and hot rocks that spewed from the deep formed layers in the foothills of the volcanoes. They were then kneaded by other terrestrial forms of energy: the tectonic forces which created the Carpathian Mountains. Wrinkled, broken and pushed together with the Earth’s crust on which they were formed, the pieces of rock rearranged like in a three dimensional puzzle. That’s why we can see now, one alongside the other, two pieces coming from two different worlds: rocks formed on a prehistoric beach and sediments from the bottom of the sea. Close to the geologic site, the trail passes by the House of Volcanoes, an experimental museum and an educational area, made of wood and cob. The trail follows the main road for 3 km from the village centre up to the geologic site. From there, it goes North, following a forestry road, up to the top of the volcanic rocks, where a watch point for birds of prey is located. From there, one visits the remains of two volcanic cones, and then the trail descends towards the road, before ascending again to the main attraction – the traces of a volcanic crater.  

DETAILS

Length: 6 km
Difficulty: average
Trail type: themed
Duration: 3 h
Level difference: 150 m
Surface type: asphalt, forestry road, footpath
Particularities: no

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LOCATION

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